Lifted is a space where joy exists as a tool for healing. However, joy should not be weaponized as political action or over-used as a method for seeking freedom. Lifted imagines a world where the history of Black joy as resistance can coincide with a future of Black joy for joy’s sake. 

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By entering the exhibition, viewers are able to see, feel, and hear the fusion of African-American and Puerto Rican roots. On one wall, Bomba Dancer Takes Flight shows the playful story of how a Bomba dancer’s footwork leads her to fly toward the stars. On another, a collection of works connects block parties by the pool to the sprawling feeling of a sugar cane farm to the intricacies of hair braiding, all of which represent the foundation of one Afro-Rican woman. By centering Black people, traditions, and futures, I hope to summarize the beauty in a culture that has continuously found joy in the darkest of places.